Question: hardtop headliner

[red vettes]

Has anyone tried replacing the headliner in our hardtop with one of the aftermarket units? I got the parts from ecklers, which were made by corvette america, the fit seems to be acceptable, but the fasteners do not grip well at all. The fasteners do not hold when the hardtop is laying upside down on my bedding, so there is no hope when I flip it over. Thanks

 

[SVO]

You may need to replace the nylon "velcro" fasteners that are attached to the hardtop shell. If you don't wish to replace the fasteners, you could try using 3M Attachment Tape.

 

[red vettes]

Thanks for the answer, I replaced 8 of "velcro" fasteners that were somethat broken on the hardtop. The replacement fasteners looked just like the ones on the new headliner, The fasteners on the new headliner due not hold at all when pressed into either the old or the new fasteners on the hard top. Years ago I used the spongy two sided adhesive tape on the old headliner, but it proved to be a regular maintance problem trying to make it hold. Eventually the old headliner worped and shrunk so bad that I just gave up and didn't use the hardtop for several years, but when I saw the new liners in the ecklers catalog, I called and talked to them, They convinced me that the new liner was far superior to the original units, which I believe it is once I figure out how to hold it in, so I started the whole rebuild process; paint, gaskets, seals, stainless, etc. so now if I get the headliner to permently hold, I'll have a new unit. Thanks Tom

 

[SVO]

The 3M tape I recommended is the auto body grade foam tape used to attach car emblems. If you previously used the office supply grade tape, that could be your problem. Before applying tape, clean where you intend to apply it, with a wax & grease remover. The 3M tape comes in different thickness and is available from any good auto body supply. If not available locally, one on-line source is Auto Body Toolmart - Paint Booths, Shop Equipment, Dent Repair Tools.

 

[bagger]

I also used heavy duty velco with super sticky backing. The top is holding quite well. The sail panels don't fit proper on my hard top. They don't want to conform to the sides of the roof. I even tried a heat gun to try and reshape them to conform but didn't have much luck.

 

[red vettes]

yes, I obviously used the office grade of tape, and we have two good auto body suppliers locally, and I will be visiting them Monday morning. thanks for the advise. I too used a heat gun, file, large washers, and some massaging where the side panels attach to the main unit, and I'm now satisfied with the fit. I'll need to fit the shell to the car and adjust the windows to the hardtop, and recheck with the rag top with the windows, prior to permanently attaching the headliner with the tape. My power windows were pretty whimpy, so I've also done some rebuilding on them along with this hardtop project. Thanks for the advice Tom